Interviews

Ken Burns’ Other Lens

Ed Rampell / Truthdig Dec 16, 2022 America’s most famous visual storyteller shifts gears in a new book. Dig deeper ( 9 Min. Read )

The Greatest Threat to the Prison-Industrial Complex

Robert Scheer / Truthdig Jan 24, 2020 "College Behind Bars" director Lynn Novick and former inmate Jule Hall examine how prison education can be used to combat recidivism. Dig deeper ( 40 Min. Read )

Country, Smoothed Over

Tim Riley / Truthdig Sep 20, 2019 Ken Burns' documentary "Country Music" and its book tie-in present country music with a naive affection that misses key American tensions. Dig deeper ( 6 Min. Read )

The Uncomfortable Truth About Journalism’s Glory Days

Robert Scheer / Truthdig Mar 1, 2019 Los Angeles Times reporter and "Don't Stop the Presses" author Patt Morrison examines the past, present and future of the fourth estate. Dig deeper ( 24 Min. Read )

Lynching the Past

Chris Hedges / Truthdig and Mr. Fish Oct 1, 2018 Many Southern whites continue to lie to themselves and the world about the Civil War and the antebellum South. These lies perpetuate the evil they seek to hide. Dig deeper ( 12 Min. Read )

Emmy Glory Won’t Solve Lingering Problems With ‘The Vietnam War’

Barbara Myers / Truthdig Aug 15, 2018 Historically questionable aspects of Ken Burns and Lynn Novick's celebrated series raise issues about the renowned documentarians’ responsibility to the public. Dig deeper ( 5 Min. Read )

Trump’s Curious Pardon of Former Heavyweight Champ Jack Johnson

Allen Barra / Truthdig May 25, 2018 A more perfect match between president and African-American icon could not be imagined. Dig deeper ( 10 Min. Read )

Vietnam War Is Not Over for Agent Orange Victims

By Marjorie Cohn and Jonathan Moore Oct 24, 2017 The destruction wrought by the U.S. military’s spraying of deadly chemical herbicides is one of the most tragic legacies of the conflict. Dig deeper ( 6 Min. Read )

An Epic Film on the Vietnam War Stops Short

Barbara Myers / Truthdig Oct 20, 2017 The Ken Burns-Lynn Novick documentary fails to grapple with the issue of U.S. culpability. If America is not honest with itself, we will never learn the lessons of the war. Dig deeper ( 10 Min. Read )

When We Marched on the Pentagon

Bill Zimmerman / Truthdig Sep 30, 2017 On Oct. 21, 1967, over 100,000 demonstrators, students, pacifists, hippies and anarchists descended on Washington, D.C., to protest the Vietnam War. Dig deeper ( 8 Min. Read )

Vietnam Myopia, 50 Years Later

Danny Goldberg / Truthdig Sep 26, 2017 “The Vietnam War” series by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick on PBS does not present, as its makers claim, a balanced view of the war. Dig deeper ( 6 Min. Read )

Killing: The American Way

By John Pilger / JohnPilger.com Sep 22, 2017 The revisionism never stops. The blood never dries. The invader is pitied and purged of guilt while "searching for meaning in a terrible tragedy." Dig deeper ( 6 Min. Read )